Windows RT dies with a whimper | Mashable

February 4, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

When Microsoft launched Windows 8 in the fall of 2012, its poster child was the Surface RT tablet. The thin, meticulously designed slate was supposed to showcase all that was good about the new touch-friendly version of Windows: dynamic live tiles, full-screen apps and lack of “chrome,” like a start button.

The device failed to attract customers, though, and Microsoft ended up losing nearly $1 billion on the tablet due to unsold inventory. A big part of what stymied the Surface was its operating system: a watered-down version of Windows called Windows RT that couldn’t run traditional desktop apps. It was Windows, just without any of the programs you actually wanted to run.

BP Slashes Spending, Braces For Oil Prices To Stay Low | Forbes

February 3, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Add BP to the list of oil companies slashing their spending in the wake of tumbling oil prices.

The company said Tuesday it was lowering its budget for exploration and production this year to $20 billion, down significantly from previous forecasts of $24 billion to $26 billion.

“We have now entered a new and challenging phase of low oil prices through the near and medium term,” said CEO Bob Dudley, adding that ”our focus must now be on resetting BP” and maintaining safe operations.

5 Questions to NEVER Ask in an Employee Feedback Survey | Small Biz Trends

February 3, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Gathering employee feedback is an important part of keeping your team happy. And while there are certain questions or topics you should be sure to cover in each of your employee feedback surveys, others aren’t as helpful. Below is a list of five questions that might present problems during the process of collecting employee feedback.

Are you making enough money?

While it might be helpful to learn how satisfied your employees are with their compensation and benefits, this exact question can present problems. How many people do you know who don’t wish they were making more money? The wording of this question almost ensures that most people will present a negative response. It also could present the idea that your company can afford to give raises to everyone who wishes they could make more money. If that isn’t the case, your employees might feel that you aren’t concerned with their responses or opinions.

Weekly Economic Update |LAEDC

February 3, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

v.19 n. 06 – Released February 02, 2015

This Week’s Headlines:

U.S. Economy Expands at a Slower Rate in Q4
Disposable Income Growth Strong in December; Consumption Falls
Manufacturing Employment in the U.S.
Events of Interest
- February 18, 2015: LAEDC Economic Forecast Event Featuring Tourism and Hospitality

Finding the Perfect Location Part 1 | Lydia Mehit

February 2, 2015February 2, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

You’re opening a retail business, selling direct to the consumer, and you are looking for a physical location. What are some of the things you need to consider? How do you choose one location over another? Which criteria should weigh heavier? You’ve heard the old saying of: “Location, Location, Location”, but what does that mean, exactly? One of the biggest decisions you make, after the decision to start a business, is where to locate your business.

There are many possible locations for a retail business. You could locate it in a shopping mall, a strip mall, a free standing building, or in a business district. You can lease the space, purchase or sublet it. What you choose can be based on several different factors, so let’s talk about some of those factors.

Continue reading “Finding the Perfect Location Part 1 | Lydia Mehit” →

Apple to sell bonds worth $5bn | BBC News

February 2, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Technology giant Apple is expected to raise at least $5bn by issuing bonds on Monday.

Some of the funds raised will be used for Apple’s share buyback programme. The California-based company plans to return more than $130bn to shareholders by the end of this year.

The move comes despite the company sitting on a cash pile of $178bn.

Apple will raise less than half the $12bn generated in April 2014 when it was last active in the US bond market.

A year earlier it raised $17bn.

Why Obama’s 2016 Budget Has Small-Business Boost Written All Over It | Inc.com

February 2, 2015February 2, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

President Obama is set to send his 2016 budget proposal to the newly Republican-led Congress as early as Monday, and news of what’s in it has already begun to emerge–namely, plans for spending increases.

While small businesses could expect a slight economic boost from more government spending, experts say, the budget debate is likely to be weighed down by intense partisan rancor that may offset any potential gain. Among other events, there’s a threat of more skirmishes over the debt ceiling and another government shutdown.

AI Won’t End the World, But It Might Take Your Job | WIRED

February 2, 2015February 2, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

There’s been a lot of fear about the future of artificial intelligence.

Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk worry that AI-powered computers might one day become uncontrollable super-intelligent demons. So does Bill Gates.

But Baidu chief scientist Andrew Ng—one of the world’s best-known AI researchers and a guy who’s building out what is likely one of the world’s largest applied AI projects—says we really ought to worry more about robot truck drivers than the Terminator.

In fact, he’s irritated by the discussion about scientists somehow building an apocalyptic super-intelligence. “I think it’s a distraction from the conversation about…serious issues,” Ng said at an AI conference in San Francisco last week.

The BMW i8 Is Over-hyped, but That Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Great: Review | Bloomberg Business

January 30, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

“Excuse me, Miss. Excuse me!”

The New York City police officer down on Ludlow Street was tapping my window with the insistence of the law.

“Oh boy,” I thought. “Here we go again.” I had been idling for way too long, talking on the phone in what definitely could not be considered a parking spot—could not even really be considered a loading spot, if I were honest.

I reluctantly rolled down the window.

“Yes, officer?” I asked.

“This is THE BEST looking car I have EVER seen,” he told me, smiling. “The best. Wow.”

I should have known. There had been the couple in a Tesla who smugly pointed out to me that their car is “completely electric” but mine “looked better.” There was the thirtysomething who stared at it longingly as he took 15 minutes to load his wife and toddler into an Audi station wagon at a nearby parking garage. And the dozen or so gawkers who hung their heads like dogs out the windows of taxis and trucks and town cars as they snapped cellphone photos.

This is how it feels to drive a BMW i8.

Small Business Taxes 2015: Everything You Need to Know | Business News Daily

January 30, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Following the most wonderful time of the year is a season that strikes fear in the hearts of many small business owners: tax time.

Shelling out a substantial percentage of the year’s income is stressful enough, but tax season also brings with it a great deal of complexity and confusion. Tax laws are constantly changing and being revised, and it can be difficult for small business owners to keep up. And what adds even more stress to tax filing is that even innocent mistakes or oversights can lead to big penalties.